1. What kind of calligraphy do you like?
Just like writing a grammatical poem, whether it rhymes or not, whether it conforms to the level, this is the rule. Whether you are a six- or seven-year-old elementary school student, an adult, or a leader, as long as you are interested in writing and want to make your words more and more like calligraphy, you must enter a series of rules of law.
The rules of calligraphy are very flexible and can have a large amount of room for delay, which is very good.
What kind of calligraphy do we want? Do you like calligraphy? Or do you prefer rich and varied calligraphy? When asked this question, most people answer that they like to be rich and varied, but in fact this may not be the case. Many people can only be satisfied with the fantasy of "colorful", once they really look directly at the "colorful" of calligraphy, they are confused in their hearts, because most people do not have colorful ideas in their hearts.
Second, calligraphy has a law, and it is established by breaking the law
Calligraphy has a degree of law, which is the foundation. But never set limits on yourself.
In calligraphy, some people like to cleverly make the rules more and more detailed, sort out the so-called thirty-six methods of large character structure, invent the nine-square method, propose the so-called geometric glyphs, golden section method, and so on. These people, who write very boringly themselves, then generalize this boredom. Meet the idea that people always want to simply take shortcuts.
It is said that photography also has a "nine-square grid", which should be learned from our calligraphy, which is similar to the so-called "golden ratio" composition, which is a composition specification that places the subject in a specific divided frame for aesthetic positioning and selection. These rules and regulations make photography lose its vitality and produce many perfect and boring photos. I see many near-perfect landscape photos on WeChat, and I always feel as if something is missing, not enough flavor. We also see a lot of good-looking and boring calligraphy, very standardized, very smooth, very stable, but the taste is not enough.
When we create based on a certain degree of law, it is easy to find a sense of beauty that we did not expect.
Third, the change is raw and needs to be sought
Through the nine-square grid, the thirty-six methods, and the golden section method, it is indeed easy to learn calligraphy, but the words written out are tasteless. Therefore, please boldly abandon the so-called nine-square grid, the thirty-six laws, the golden section method, and other dogmas that imprison the meaning of calligraphy.
In the practice of calligraphy creation, I pay attention to the brushwork, gestures, and brushstrokes, I do not look at the so-called structural method, do not set limits and frame myself.
Calligraphic taste, from low to high search
Learning is a process of "searching". The teacher is always a stage leader. The real way is to walk on your own, to find it on your own. The true joy of calligraphy is to discover and enjoy in search. Why use the word "seek", because in the way of art, no one can tell you the correct answer, the only answer. We have to try to find our own world, not the world that others tell you.
1. Looking for it in the world of brushwork
The most interesting thing about calligraphy is the line, and the most meaningful thing about the line is the brushwork. Understanding the little by little strokes, understanding the changeable lines, you understand the core of the brushwork. So we have to start with a scratch.
Wang Xizhi's teacher, Madame Wei, said in the "Pen Array Map": "The point" is like a mountain falling stone. After listening to this sentence, I felt bad at the time. Imagine how textured, how varied and heavy it is to fall a stone on a mountain. I was shocked to see it at the time, and I felt that writing was not a play, and I had to understand it this way and pursue it in this way. At that time, I found that Mr. Sha Menghai wrote "points", which really had the thickness and strength of the alpine falling stones. Let's take a look at the "Ancestral Hall of the Right Army of the King" written by Sha Menghai, and the point of "Ancestral Hall" is very full and powerful.
The twenty zigzags of the Orchid Pavilion Are written in different ways
When you look at the analysis of the strokes of the calligraphy, the way to write a little bit is to reverse the front, then to the right, and then back to the hook into a dot. The points written in this way are rich and varied.
Calligraphy is composed of lines, and the quality of the lines directly affects the quality of the calligraphy, and the lines are composed of starting, writing, and closing. Some people say that writing is the hardest place to write. At the end of the pen, it is a little ah, it is really difficult. Improper methods, lack of strength, and toughness.
In Buddhism, there are four words, "Dharma without amorphous phase," which is wonderful. The "point" is like a falling stone of a mountain, which is a phase of the point, and it is definitely not the only phase. For example, some of the points that Mr. Shen Ding'an wrote were like water droplets falling, although they were not as thick and full as Mr. Sha Menghai, but they also looked very spiritual and lively.
Then look at the horizontal writing. This is also very exquisite, and it cannot be casually swiped past. Madame Wei said in the "Pen Array Map": "Horizontal" is like a cloud of thousands of miles. She does not say "horizontal" like a tree trunk, "horizontal" like a wooden stick, but like a thousand miles of clouds. Imagine how varied and imposing the mighty clouds are. That's the beauty of using a pen. Without deep understanding and understanding of this sentence, it is impossible to understand the real writing and writing style.
The core of the line is the sense of life, so we must reflect the emotion and sense of life in the line. Lines without a sense of life, stiff, contrived, rigid; slippery lines in the oil cavity, habit, oil slippery, frivolous, hollow; lines with a sense of life, vivid, natural, and energetic, why emphasize the twists and turns of the lines, is to make the calligraphy show a feeling of breathing.
(2) Searching in the world of orthography
The next thing to talk about is the search in the world of calligraphy. The orthography must conform to the law, but also cannot be stuck to the law. The golden section method is to stick to the law. Too symmetrical and balanced, very standard is to stick to the law.
Each word can independently become an aesthetic object, and we look for a unique aesthetic shape. The ancients said: Calligraphy is based on the use of the pen, and the knot may be hard work. The use of the pen is the brushwork, the knot is the structure, that is, the orthography, which shows that the penmanship is more important than the orthography. But the knot may be hard work, so Mr. Qi Gong thinks that the orthography is more important.
In fact, the penmanship is the operation law of bit by bit, and the orthography is the composition law of one word and one word. We look at a person, fat people have the composition of fat people, thin people have the composition of thin people, their "parts" are not the same. This constitutive law is related to the aesthetics of the individual and to the fashion of the times.
The Book of Lishu "Ode to the Stone Gate" is unpredictable
Short, long, fat and thin have their own forms, all of which have aesthetic value. The king of Chu loves a thin waist, the Tang Dynasty likes fat and beautiful women, and the contemporary advocates thinness, all of which are the customs of the times. The trend of the times does not affect the coexistence of other aesthetics.
Art is advocating uniqueness, a very accomplished calligrapher, he should look for a unique pen, knot and chapter layout, present a new and different style, showing his unique spiritual temperament. Just because the masses of the people accept and like neat prints, we cannot write all the printed characters.
Chu Suiliang's thinness, Yu Shinan's gentleness, Liu Gongquan's rigor, and Yan Zhenqing's broadness are all of different meaning, and none of them are the same. Let's look at the common body willow body. Yan Jian Liu Bone is a very unique style of calligraphy in the history of calligraphy. With the pen, Yan Zhenqing is mainly tendon- and condensed, thick and changeable; Liu Gongquan is mainly bone-based, tough, straight, and rigorous.
For the search for calligraphy, we must understand by copying various classic calligraphy to understand the rules of calligraphy of Wang Xizhi, Yan Zhenqing, Mi Fu, Zhao Zhiqian, Wu Changshuo and others. Through copying and mastering various techniques, understand the ancient people's penmanship, orthography, chapters and other methods, and understand the state of mind of the ancients.
The same word can be written in different ways. The same song can be sung in different ways. Copying is a means, not an end. The excitement always belongs to the creator. Copy learning, ultimately, is to create.
Some people write a certain kind of writing all their lives, and they follow the same trend, and they dare not and will not go beyond the thunder pool, which is to copy the image as the purpose, which is a pity. There is a Hua Shikui in Tianjin, who has written the face style all his life and has no breakthrough;
There is a Zhou Yong village in Shaoxing, who wrote the "Cuan Baozi Monument" for 80 years. I feel that Mr. Zhou Lao is smarter than Hua Shikui, and Zhou Lao still wrote some of his own personality when he wrote "Cuan Bao Zi Stele".
The word "zhi" in Wang Xizhi's "Orchid Pavilion Preface"
Let's take a look at the calligraphy of Saint Wang Xizhi, every word in his pen is like a beautiful woman, a word can be varied, let's see the "Zigzag" character in the "Orchid Pavilion Preface", how beautiful.
I myself have been looking for calligraphy and structure for so many years, I don't want to be fixed in a pattern, I want to look for diversity and variability, in fact, this can be done, my calligraphy structure and pen are very rich and diverse.
The an character in Wang Xizhi's "Seventeen Theses" is written in different ways
(3) Searching in the world of rules and regulations
Talking about penmanship and orthography, let's talk about it, looking for it in the world of chapters. Chapters are the layout of the entire work. It is equivalent to you being the commander-in-chief, you have to dominate the whole situation, there are so many soldiers, how do you go to set up a good position. It's hard.
The first is to plan the layout of the article, and it should be intended to be written first.
Whether it is one or two words, or three or five words, or hundreds of thousands of words, there is a problem of how to layout. It is more difficult to write very good effects, especially those special effects, unexpected effects, it is difficult.
We have to learn from others, but we also have to think and find ourselves. When we look at Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion", it seems that the layout of the chapters is not special, but there are many internal changes that can be carefully savored. Looking at Xu Wei's cursive writing, full of paper, rushing forward, very imposing. Looking at Mr. Shen Ding'an's words, "people and books are old" Doufang, "people" are flat, "book" words "club" words are long, "old" characters are square, the overall look has changed, and it is very comfortable. Look at my "Longjing Smoke" four lines of cursive, written in the upper part of the whole paper, and then, the "well" word is stretched down vertically, changing and reasonable, and the falling part is written again, so that it has an echo relationship with the elongated vertical, and the chapter method adds a sense of richness and blockyness, leaving a lot of white space is very good.
(4) Pursue individuality and creativity
The pursuit of personalization and creativity, your calligraphy has real value, always follow the back of others to face the imitation, will never have a chance. In the pursuit of individuality, do not be assimilated by others, you should strengthen your own personality. Only truly powerful people will not be assimilated. Only truly learned and cultivated people will firmly believe in going their own way.
In fact, everyone is unique, everyone should have a personality, but in fact, we are constantly weakening our own personality, we are constantly assimilated by the people around us, rather than enriching our own personality.
Every successful calligrapher, in the process of individual exploration and practice, is both happy, painful and difficult. Because there are successes and there are failures.
Let's take a few examples:
1. Zhu Guantian's early calligraphy exploration, mainly based on dots, the whole work, almost all points, very unique, but now the words he wrote have completely changed. At one point, his words became long guns and sticks again, stretching out. Later, it changed again, less exaggerated, but still without losing personality.
2, look at Li Bairen's works, mainly lines, all points have become lines, very personality, but twisted and twisted like earthworms, but in fact, it is not intriguing. Moreover, the calligraphy, which was originally composed of points and lines, lacked many meanings without points with different shapes. Therefore, the change of calligraphy cannot be simplified. (Especially the jianghu calligraphers, the random change is lifeless)
Regarding the creativity of calligraphy, it can be divided into several kinds, one is seven points of inheritance, three points of creation, inheritance of more creation of less; one is three points of inheritance, seven points of creation, inheritance of less, more creation; and one is skillful inheritance, no trace, you can hardly see his ins and outs.
Society must move forward, art should move forward, and the only way to move forward is through individuality and creativity. I have been writing calligraphy for decades, and I have been pursuing personalization, whether it is xingshu, lishu, calligraphy, seal calligraphy, I have worked hard to seek my own personality and find my own artistic language. I am more confident that I have my own understanding and writing methods of various fonts.
It is not easy to form personalization, but things are two-sided, and personalization will unconsciously enter stylization as you walk, which requires vigilance. Stylized personality must be broken early.
Don't let calligraphy crust, let alone let people crust.
Source: Calligraphic Reflections